Govt to erect innovation hubs across Uganda

Government plans to erect innovation hubs in various regions across Uganda to allow young people enjoy untapped opportunities that come with invention, authorities have said.

“We have opened one in Kabale based at Kabale University, another one in Eastern Uganda at Soroti University and one in Muni University in West Nile. We shall be opening up other innovation hubs in the country because the young people are everywhere- not only in Kampala,” ICT and National Guidance minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi said on Monday in Kampala.

“These hubs are supposed to enable Ugandans be able to come up with solutions to the day-to-day challenges. Government has also partnered with UNDP and they have provided us support to do much more work in these hubs,” Baryomunsi explained at a public event geared towards unlocking youth potential to spark Africa’s development revolution.

On her part, the Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa Ahunna Eziakonwa observed that “the innovation hubs provides the opportunity for talent to prosper and cross borders.”

“And as UNDP, we are trying to make prosperity a shared commodity…o that we are not talking about a world where only a few have the opportunity to live life of decency,” she emphasized.

Savannah Group chairman Rugunda Kwame noted that digital literacy will have a significant impact on future generations while panelist Rebbecca Kichoncho said many innovations are developed for the literate leaving out the illiterate.

“As we are being innovative, can we have the end user in mind,” she appealed.

During the launch of a revamped innovation hub in Kampala’s Nakawa Division on January 11 2024, ICT state minister Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo said the sector employs over 1.3 million Ugandans and has potential to employ more.